Bur buttercup
Also called Curveseed Butterwort. Spread aggressively. When the seed pod dries out and hardens, it becomes spiky and sticks like a velcro.
Life cycle
They are annuals and reseed quickly.
Hazard
It’s highly toxic to animals.
Control
How to get rid of them?
Prevention
How to prevent those suckers from coming out in spring?
Life cycle
They are annuals and reseed quickly.
Control
How to get rid of them?
Hazard
It’s highly toxic to animals.
Prevention
How to prevent those suckers from coming out in spring?
Life cycle
They are annual: germinate in early spring and have beautiful yellow flowers. Each seed pod can generate 5-80 seeds.
Soft short foliage emerges in Feburary.
Small yellow flowers come out around March.
Bur (seed pod) comes out right after flowers… they are very prolific.
When it’s dried and hardened, it will fall on the ground and easily stick on your shoes, socks or animal’s fur.
Hazard
Bur buttercup is considered highly toxic and livestock can be poisoned (anorexia, labored breathing, diarrhea) and die from digesting it. It also can affect humans by irritating skin and causing blisters.
What is the toxic chemical?
The plant contains ranunculin, which turns into a toxic compound protoanemonin when the plant is crushed
How do you get rid of bur buttercup?
The next section we’ll explain the common methods.
Control
They only grow 3-4″ and produce massive amounts of seeds. Very easy to pull by hand or rake before it goes seeded. If the seeds already go in the ground, consider a big scale of physical or chemical removal methods.
Handpull, rake
from the roots- Easy, 100% effective
- No equipment needed.
- No other plants are harmed.
- Once the seed pods mature and dry out, they’re not pleasant to touch.
- Back hurts after pulling for an hour
- Unless you’re sure that your hot compost is over 140°F that can kill the seeds, do NOT compost bur buttercup.
Physical removal
Solarization, cardboard, mulch- No chemicals involved.
- Solarization requires full sun area and moist the area first before you cover a clear plastic sheet. It will kill all the weeds and seeds in 1-2 months.
- Single plastic use for solarization.
- Or cover the area with cardboard and mulch it after. It composes as time goes.
- It only works for the areas that you want to completely redo.
Herbicides + pre-emergent
2,4-D, Glyphosate, preen- Apply herbicides to kill it. Apply pre-emergent in early spring to prevent it sprouts.
- Herbicides might harm your plants around it, with potential health hazards if you don’t use it correctly.
- The most efficient way to get a big infestation area under control.
- It’s toxic for animals and you.
Solarization
It utilizes the penetrated sunlight to heat up the ground to 140°F with moisture to “cook” the weeds, seeds, pathogens, etc. Get a sheet of clear plastic tarp (>2 mil), moist the ground, cover it and secure the sides with dirt or rocks.
Cardboard method
1. We removed the topsoil with millions of dry mature bur buttercups. (We dumped it in big black garbage bags, moist it with water and let it “cook”. Use the soil after a few months.)
2. Cover the ground with cardboard. Cut some holes where we want to put plants in.
3. Mulch it with woodchips ~3″
Prevention
Catch them early in spring to prevent your garden get completely destroyed.
Pre-emergent spray
Apply chemical spray before it sprouts (late winter/early spring)
Early control
Identify it when the infestation is small and remove it before it goes seeded.
Mulch it heavily
They are annuals that propagate through seeds so mulching 3″ help new seeds contacting the soil.